Editors at the Washington Examiner question Democratic politicians’ willingness to live under lockdown restrictions they impose on everyone else.
The public has been subjected to coronavirus lockdowns of varying degrees for over five months and counting, but prominent Democrats have decided that they should be exempt from the restrictions everyone else must abide by.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi openly flouted these restrictions recently when she got her hair coiffed at a San Francisco salon that remains closed to the public. Local ordinances only allow for outdoor services, and Pelosi was captured on security video not wearing a mask. Despite the evidence, her spokesman declared that the speaker “always wears a mask and complies with local COVID requirements.”
Pelosi’s not the only one. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly been caught not wearing a mask despite his incessant demands that everyone else do so. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser declared the funeral of John Lewis essential and so exempted travelers from her order of quarantining for two weeks upon arriving in the city. Funerals for citizens who didn’t serve in the government were explicitly declared to be nonessential.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his trip to the gym during the pandemic because it was necessary that he “stay healthy so I can make the decisions for the people of this city.” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has banned indoor dining in his city, straining local restaurants, but that didn’t stop him from heading over to Maryland to enjoy indoor dining.
Haircuts seem to be a uniquely popular point of hypocrisy among Democratic leaders. Michigan requires hours upon hours of training for barbers and hairstylists, but Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on Michigan residents upset with her lockdown restrictions to just “Google how to do a haircut.” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also got her hair done while the state’s salons and barbershops are shut down because she is “the public face of this city.”